Posted by Robert Kirk on February 18, 2004 at 22:09:44:
In Reply to: Re: Compulsory Bull Inspections ? posted by Rod Metcalfe on February 16, 2004 at 19:01:46:
In reply to Rod Metcalfe. In my opinion there are three key issues facing the Society and breeders:
1)We should have a strong central direction, with a greater emphasis on breed promotion, beef production and beef marketing. I feel this is somewhat lacking at the moment.
2)Where do we go after decoupling?
For those of us who farm Dexters for beef,we should not fear the loss of subsidies, we are a in a better position than many commercial beef farmers - we have a far superior product which we can market direct to the housewife, hoteliers, etc, at a premium price. I can relate to the figures Bill Osborne has quoted.
3)Bull inspections
I find Rod Metcalfe's interpretation of bull inspectors confusing. Surely the inspector is there to ensure bulls are up to breed standard. I gather that we are heading once again for compulsory bull inspections. If this is to be, I would urge Council to set up a full training programme and selection process for all bull inspectors before going compulsory. We have all been down this road before - far too many bull inspectors with differing ideas on what the breed standard for bulls should be.
One thought might be to leave things as they are, with inspection for prospective Elite bulls and only registration for those members who do not wish to have Elite status. The current registration fee for bulls to remain or even increase, which hopefully may discourage less experienced breeders and those with just one or two females to think twice about breeding their own bull. Thus leaving the breeding of bulls to more experienced breeders.
Robert Kirk
Boram Dexters